"I got cancer in my prostrate." Detective Andy Sipowicz of the fictional 15th Precinct, a stoic, big bear of a man, is clearly in a world of pain in a 1998 episode of NYPD Blue. The story line deals not only with cancer but also with medical screw-ups, hospital indignities and physician arrogance. Themalapropism(Andy, of course, meant "prostate")is about the only medical detail the show got wrong— and it was deliberate, in keeping with Sipowicz"s coarse but tenderhearted character. Television, which can still depict death as an event akin to fainting, is beginning to try harder to get its health information right. And a handful of foundations and consultants are working to get the attention of writers, producers and assorted Hollywood moguls, trying to convince them that, in the area of medicine, the truth is as compelling as fiction. The stakes are high. Surveys show a surprising number of Americans get much of their basic health information not from their doctors, not even from newspapers or news magazines, but from entertainment television. A survey by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that among people who watch soap operas at least twice a week — more than 38 million people — about half learned something about disease and its prevention from the daytime serials. Some 7 percent actually visited a doctor because of something they viewed. Certain television shows are naturals for health education. The Clinton administration has been quick to recognize the potency of the entertainment media as a health promoter. Secretary Donna Shalala, whose Department of Health and Human Services educates the public through traditional brochures and public service announcements, has offered TV writers the sources of her department to help them ensure accuracy. "Entertainment television reaches the hearts and minds of millions of Americans," she told U.S. News. "In recent years, I have challenged television talk-show hosts, writers, and producers — as professionals, parents, and citizen — to use this incredible power to help Americans get accurate public health information." The story line "I got cancer in my prostrate" is intended to achieve a(n)______effect.

A. amusing
B. serious
C. puzzling
D. saddening